In A Child's Eyes
by Jabbertalky
Summary: Boondock Saints Fic: Takes place after the end of the movie, the MacManuses find that the Russians are snatching children. When they go in to save a pair of them, the kids see more than they should. Caution: strong language, violence.
1. Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own _The Boondock Saints _as much as I wish I did. 

"They came in the door this time," Agent Smecker began. "Easy enough for them, these men were slobs and expendable. The Russians used them because they could afford to lose them. The two on the floor here were on the couch, watching the television. That one in the hall was in the bathroom, his pants aren't buttoned. He came in when the door was kicked in. Two moved out of the doorway, to the side, here and here." He pointed to indicate exactly where. "Then they fired. It didn't take long for them to get all five. Only they weren't here for these men precisely, they were looking for something…or someone.

"Two of them tore up the room a bit," he continued, walking around, stopping in front of the closet. "Until they got to here. There were people here. Children from the footprint. They put the fairs over the eyes and took the children with them. As they were walking, one stepped in the blood from this fellow." He pointed to the man lying in the hall.

"What if it wasn't a kid? What if it was a midget?"

"What's with you, Greenley, and abnormally sized men?" Agent Smecker asked. The other officers chuckled. "Get me a cup of coffee."

"We can't keep these kids around, take them back to their mother and be done with it," the McManus boys' father told them. 

"We can't, Da, we don't know who they are," Murphy replied. "They boy won't say a single world and the girl's just scared too. It's a wonder they aren't worse." He watched the two curled up on the bed for a moment. The girl was awake as she held her younger sleeping brother. Connor waved his hand in front of Murphy's face to break him out of it.

"We can't keep 'em, Murph," Connor concurred with their father. "Someone's bound to know who's missing two cute lil' Irish kids."

"Right," Murphy said, trying to be sensible again. "Annie might know." Connor smiled. Murphy had introduced him to Annie Odell, a smart little woman who worked as an editor for a newspaper that ran to all the Irish in Massachusetts. If something was happening to the Irish, she knew.

"That writers knows everything, thanks to a fool of an Irishman who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut," Conner responded, accusingly. "The only reporter that knows everything about us."

"She hasn't printed a word of it, hasn't exploited us at all," Murphy defended. "If I gave her permission, then she'd print it, but not a moment sooner." Il Duce stood suddenly.

"Let's go see her then, get rid of the children," he said, settling the dispute.

"You mean to leave them with her?" Murphy questioned, not liking the idea. Annie didn't want to get involved in their work and she certainly didn't want to be the keeper of two children who were something like ghosts. "You haven't even met her, Da, what if she won't take 'em?"

"Wait until that comes into play, son."

Conner followed their father to the bed and an unhappy Murphy joined them a second later. Connor hoisted the girl into his arms and Murphy took the boy.

"Where are we going?" the little girl asked in a small but heavily accented voice. She blinked innocent, big green eyes at Connor. They were two deep pools of green, Irish eyes.

"Why, we're going to see a friend of mine," Murphy told her. "She's going to help us get you home." The little girl blinked again, this time as if she didn't understand a word he had said. Annie was going kill him for this. Murphy sighed and walked out to the waiting car.

Murphy knocked in a particular pattern on the door to room 717 that would tell Annie exactly who it was coming to call on her. A moment later, he heard the rattle as chains slid from their locks and the door swung open. Annie stood there, surprised to see Murphy, but even more puzzled by the child that he held in his arms. Her eyes were green and her red hair tied back in a single ponytail. A pen was in one hand and a notebook in the other. Another pen was tucked behind her ear.

"Hello, Annie," Murphy greeted. "You remember my brother, Connor." He moved out of the way and Connor smiled at her.

"Hi, Murphy, come on in," Annie said, remembering her manners. "Who have you got with you?" She titled her head at the two children. Murphy and Connor walked in to the couch and put the kids down. The boy immediately sought the comfort of his sister. Annie's table was covered with papers and the like. She'd been working when they came in. She went over and tried to straighten it up a bit. 

"Have ya had anyone call the newspaper about two missing children?" Murphy asked. She looked up.

"Aye, but not those two, I know that, not the right ages," she answered. She caught on fast to what the McManus brothers were doing coming to her. "There was a pair of boys a month ago that haven't been turned up. And another three, two girls and a boy, two weeks ago."

"You sound a might disgusted," Connor commented. "What are the cops doing?"

"Next to nothing actually, they're just a few Irish children and God knows, we have enough of those roaming around," Annie said. "They probably ran off themselves. They aren't my section of the paper though; someone else is taking care of those articles. I have to do more important things. I don't think we'll be able to run their missing alerts much longer even." Finally, she snapped open her laptop and brought up the article that ran a month ago when the boy disappeared. Murphy moved to stand behind her and read over her shoulder.

"These boys were too old to be that one, like ya said," Murphy agreed. "What about that other boy?"

"Too young, he was three," Annie replied. She looked over at Connor and suddenly she froze. The little girl was watching her with wide eyes. "Murphy, where did you get these children?" she whispered. Murphy gave her a guilty look.

"They got snatched by the Russians," he told her, his voice a whisper too. "We found 'em in a closet. They must have seen everything. The boy won't say a word."

"Oh Murphy, they didn't!" Annie exclaimed. "How could you be so careless? They're just children." Murphy's guilt deepened across his features and Annie felt bad for scolding him about the kids. "Look, Murphy, I'm sorry, I know you feel bad enough already."

"That's all right, Annie," Murphy replied. She stood and went over to the little girl. Connor went over to Murphy.

"So there's nothing?" Connor asked. His brother nodded. "What are we going to fucking do with them then? She was supposed to know something."

"Maybe she can find out something," Murphy suggested. 

"Are you hungry, sweetheart?" they heard Annie asked.

"Fuck, we didn't feed them or nothing," Connor realized, belatedly. "We should have fed them or something."

"It's a motherly instinct, Connor, we haven't got it," Murphy replied. He smiled at Annie and stood up. Connor set to skimming the article.

"What are you going to do with them?" Annie asked. Murphy looked back at his brother. She knew then, in that instant, what that look meant. "No, no Murphy…No. You cannot." She looked between the two of them.

"We don't have much of a choice, Miss Odell," Connor put in. "Just keep them one night, Annie, just one night."

"Please," Murphy added. His eyes were on the kids though, not on Annie.

"One night?" Annie questioned. "Do ya promise for just one night? Otherwise _I_ promise…"

"Thank you, Annie," Murphy said. He kissed her cheek and turned toward the door. "Look, we can't stay, but we'll be back tomorrow. To pick 'em up."

"You'd better be."

"Will you poke around with the newspaper?" Murphy continued. "I mean, if you want to, else we'll worry about it ourselves."

"Come on, Murph, Da's waiting," Connor reminded his brother. Annie followed them to the door, glancing back at the kids once. 

"Look, I know ya have to be on your way and I don't know if I really have a right to ask…but I don't have any money right now," Annie told them. "And those kids are going to need to be clothed and fed tonight."

"Fuck, we didn't think of clothing them either," Connor said. Annie bit her lip and Murphy hit Connor across the chest.

"Watch your language with a lady around," Murphy cautioned. Connor frowned, the warning out of character for his brother. "All right, Annie." He dug in his pocket and came out with a roll of bills that made her blink. Connor reached up and smacked him upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"What're ya doing carrying that much money around with you?" Connor scolded.

"I was going to leave it with Annie" Murphy retorted. "You can't have expected me not to after dumping those two on her?" Connor ran his hand down his chin and waved a hand for Murphy to proceed. He started to count out a few bills and stopped, handing her the whole roll.

"Murphy, I didn't mean this much," Annie said. He closed her fingers around the cash and shrugged. "I just meant enough to take care of them. Take them across the way to get a change of clothes, a warm meal…"

"Save it then, for a rainy day," Murphy replied. "See ya tomorrow, around five, all right?"

"I guess, sure," Annie breathed. They walked out and she closed the door behind them. Then she remembered the two children again and turned back to them. "So, how about we go for a ride?" 

TBC...

AN: I just bought this movie the other day with my Christmas money and I fell in love with it. I tried to swear off writing fanfics and haven't put one on this site for a long time. I hope that anyone who read this fic enjoys it.


	2. Part Two

**Boondock Saints: In A Child's Eyes, Part 2**  
Disclaimer: I don't own _The Boondock Saints _as much as I wish I did.

"Are you sure you want to wait in the car again, Da?" Connor asked. He leaned in the car window while Murphy walked over to the door. Murphy was certainly more eager to return to Annie's apartment. If she hadn't found out anything, they were only going to take those children back into _their _custody. That was, unless Murphy could convince Annie to keep them a little longer.

"Hurry up," his father told him. Connor gave a curt nod and went after Murphy. He was standing next to the elevator doors.

"He hasn't even met the girl, and he doesn't intend to, and he's decided he doesn't like her," Murphy stated, tilting his head in the general direction of the car. Connor peered at him. When Murphy realized his brother was staring, he frowned. "You'd better put that out before we get up there." Connor picked the cigarette out from between his lips and made a show of looking around for a place to toss it.

"What do you need his approval for, Murph?" Connor asked. He meant no disrespect towards his father and Murphy knew that. "She's a nice girl. Anyone who meets Annie is bound to like her." He simply dropped his cigarette and stepped on it as the elevator arrived, let the apartment manager worry about it. They moved inside and Murphy pushed the button for the seventh floor.

"Aye," Murphy replied. "But that's the problem, who am I to ruin this nice girl's life by insisting on being a part of it? I just wanted to look out for her, sometimes Annie needs that."

"She looks out for you too, you know," Connor said. "Telling you not to drink and smoke and curse."

"She never told me not to drink."

"It doesn't seem like she thinks you're ruinin' her life," Connor continued, ignoring the comment. "Let it be. We've got to lie low for a while anyway." The elevator stopped shortly and they made their way to Annie's door. Connor raised his hand to knock, but Murphy stopped him.

"I always knock the same way," Murphy told him. 

"Is that right?" Connor smirked. Murphy ignored him and knocked as he usually did, rocking back onto his heels to wait. They both expected the chain to slide out of place, like always, but when it didn't, they both frowned. Connor rolled up his sleeve and checked his watched. They weren't early, nor were they late. Murphy decided to try again. He repeated the knock, but when he finished, he flipped back his coat, going for his gun. 

"I think something's wrong," Murphy said. His voice was quiet and uneasy. Connor didn't reply, his own hand already going for his gun, identical to Murphy's,

"Try the doorknob first," Connor advised.

"It's never unlocked," Murphy replied. Nevertheless, Murphy's hand fell to the doorknob and his fingers curled around it. He slowly started to turn it and to his surprise and anxiety, it turned in his grasp, clearly unlocked. With one more look to Connor, he pushed it open. The door swung a few inches and suddenly met with the resistance of the chain. "I'm going to kick it in."

"Aye," Connor said. Murphy stepped back and let the door have it. They were both prepared for someone to meet them and had their guns up and ready. However, no one was there. Murphy went in first, Connor close on his heels. He almost abandoned all caution when he got inside the actual room and past the entryway. Murphy did have enough sense not to lower his weapon until Connor had him covered. Then he knelt next to Annie. She blinked back at him. He pulled the gag off her mouth carefully.

"Murphy, it's a trap," Annie croaked out. Just then, Connor yelled and fired down the hall. Murphy spun but Connor was holding his own. Stupidly, the men who had set the trap were in the hall where there was only room for one to come at them. 

"Get her off that chair, Murphy!" Connor ordered. Murphy did as he was told. Annie was cuffed to the chair. He pulled her hands away from her and angled his gun away, blasting the chain apart. Next moment, he was with Connor. Annie shrunk down to the floor, covering her head with her arms. With the last shot, Connor waited a second, then walked slowly into the hallway. Murphy grabbed Annie's arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Are you hurt?" Murphy asked her. When she shook her head, he continued. "Go over to the door, just wait a minute."

Annie moved to where he'd said. Murphy turned back to watch out for Connor. His brother was checking out Annie's bedroom for someone else lurking and came out when he was satisfied it was clear. There was still one room left though. Connor moved to the bathroom. Annie's bathroom was odd, also holding a washing machine and a dryer that took up most of the space. The room was likely to have been renovated, enlarged. There was no one in it. Connor turned back to Murphy.

"What happened to the kids?" he asked. Annie was peering around the corner ever so slightly.

"They took the girl with them…but they couldn't find Declan…"Annie said, just soft enough for Connor to have to strain his ears.

"What?" Murphy questioned. "Then where's the boy?"

"I don't know," Annie whispered. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "We came back, because I took the two for a nice dinner and a change of clothes…And right after…someone knocked. I hadn't had time…the chain…" Murphy walked over to her and cupped her cheeks in his hands. He brushed a tear from her face with his thumb.

"Hush, Annie, it's all right now," Murphy murmured. She sniffed.

"Wait," Connor interjected. He was sure he'd heard something as he'd watched them. He spun around and raised his gun a bit, back to the bathroom. His eyes fell on the dryer. He grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. Curled in a ball was the boy they had left with Annie the night before. He blinked at Connor, a startling calm amidst the chaos. "Well…hello there, come on out," Connor said to him, offering his hand.

The boy grasped his hand and Connor extracted him from the dryer. It stuck Connor that it was amazing the men had missed him. Then again, he recalled, the boy hadn't made a sound while in their care. There was no way to open the dryer from inside. Only someone outside could. He'd probably recognized the voices. Connor was ready and willing to give him credit for that.

"Murph, take this boy over there," Connor said. His brother stepped over the bodies and took the kid in his arms. He was halfway across the room when a shot shattered the window and buried itself in his leg. Murphy stumbled and Connor plowed out to him. The boy landed about on his feet and skittered to Annie. Connor was grateful for that. He gripped Murphy and supported him. 

"Go, out the door!" Connor yelled. They went fast, Annie carrying the boy. In the hall, she ran ahead and pushed the call button for the elevator. Connor was just out the door with Murphy when they heard the distinct firing of a shotgun. They exchanged a look but kept going. Into the elevator they went. Once inside, Connor covered Murphy's wound with his hand, trying to slow the bleeding. Murphy winced and leaned heavily against the wall.

"What was that?" Murphy got out, between clenched teeth.

"There must have been a fucking shooter across the way!" Connor growled, angry. His voice was protective. He looked over at Annie in the corner. She held the boy and he clung to her like they had known each other for years.

"Language around a child, Connor," Murphy reprimanded. He changed the subject then. "That was Da."

"I know that," Connor replied. The elevator seemed to be moving excruciatingly slow. 

"What are we going to do?" Annie asked suddenly. Her eyes darted from one to the other and she wore her fear plainly. "He needs to get to a hospital."

"Ah, what this?" Murphy said. "Just a flesh wound, Annie…" Connor shook his head. He didn't get a good look at Murphy's leg.

"Did the bullet go through?" Connor put in. Murphy frowned and give him a look that said, 'How the fuck should I know?' Connor eased his arm off his shoulder and worked his other hand in. "Annie…you've got to help me here." She nodded and set the boy down, but he wrapped his arms around her leg.

"Declan, it's all right, just a moment," Annie told him. She shifted over to Connor and Murphy. 

"Don't do this now, Connor," Murphy grumbled. His brother didn't listen. 

"I'm going to move my hand," Connor explained. "I've got a pressure hold here, but still…I just need you to cover where my hand is now." She nodded again. Connor moved his hand away and Annie's shot in quickly. He moved his hand around and felt through the blood soaked material of his brother's jeans, a second tear. There was another trickle of blood there too. "Murphy, you bastard, managed to get yourself into this," he muttered. "All right, Annie, let go." She moved her hand and he put his back, returning to the position he'd had before.

"Annie…" Murphy began, but she shook her head at him. Finally, the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and they were met with their father, his gun at the ready. He lowered it as he recognized them.

"The stairs would had been quicker," Il Duce told them. Then his eyes fell on Murphy and his brow furrowed. "Come on then." They went out the front door and straight to the car. Connor shoved Murphy in the back seat and then waited for Annie to get in. He closed the door behind them and climbed in the front seat. Their father hit the gas before he had his door closed.

"What happened out here, Da?" Connor asked. He dug around under his seat and came up with a first aid kit. 

"Man got out of the car parked two ahead of me with a case and went into the _empty _building, the on right next door," was the reply. "So I followed. What happened up there?"

"It was a trap, someone must have followed us yesterday," Connor answered. "We killed them all, it was the shooter that got Murphy."

"Well he's dead. Where's the other kid, the girl?"

"They took her before we got there," Connor said. He pivoted in his seat and passed Murphy some gauze bandages. Annie shifted in her seat, moving the boy off her lap and took them away. When she pressed the gauze on his leg, he flinched but didn't say anything. "The boy was hidden in her dryer, all curled up. Must not have made a sound until he heard us come in."

"His name is Declan," Annie cut in. "We left my laptop, but I was looking into the disappearances. Declan and Phiala were reported missing just yesterday, an article is due in today's paper. I had trouble though. Declan was reported as Devlyn, because that's what they call him in his group home. The point though, is that their names are the names of saints."


	3. Part Three

**Boondock Saints: In A Child's Eyes, Part 3**

Disclaimer: I don't own _The Boondock Saints _as much as I wish I did. 

AN: I'm sorry this took so long to get up. I hope anyone who read the beginning is still interested in the ending.

Murphy lay asleep on the bed. Annie was in the shower. The boy, Declan, sat obediently at the closed door, right in the middle of the floor. He didn't make a sound and hardly moved to even breathe. Connor and his father sat back, across from each other, at a small table. Connor had a cigarette and Il Duce had a cigar. The window was open to let the smoke out and let in the only light inside the small hotel room. Connor stared outside, though the view was anything but pleasant. A parking lot with a few cars against a brick wall, covered in graffiti. They were just outside Boston.  
  
Connor imagined that he was looking back to his youth, in Ireland, so he didn't have to really see the mess. One of those carefree memories he still had played in front of him. He played with Murphy in the short grass. There was the scent of fresh air and nature, plants. He resisted the urge to look at his father as he relived the old memory. The man with the gray beard and cigar had left without seeing any of that. 

"We should get out of the country, go back to Ireland," his father said suddenly. "Take those two to that Agent Smecker. He'll put them in protective custody and then they can start a new life somewhere."  
  
"Murphy won't agree to that," Connor replied. He didn't like the idea himself. If the children were being snatched for no other reason besides their names, something they had no power over, Connor wanted to do something. He didn't know what he wanted to do, that would come with more thought, but it seemed hypocritical to just leave them. Then there was Annie too. She had a good job, a nice place to live, and other friends. The police had to be at her apartment by then, piecing together the situation. On the evening news, people would be told who she was and that she was missing. Connor stood and picked up the phone.  
  
Declan was watching him silently with large eyes. The boy had watched murder through those eyes. They weren't innocent and questioning anymore as a child's eyes should be. He understood exactly what they'd said and exactly what Connor meant to do with the phone. Then he looked away, at the bathroom door again. The sound of shower water was gone now. Il Duce stood then. Without a word, he stepped outside. The voice of the operator made Connor look at the phone.  
  
"If you would like to make a call, please hang up and try again."

He put the receiver in the cradle again and walked out after his father

  
  
"Agent Smecker, we found a kid's shoe in the trash," Dolly reported. "It's got blood on it." Smecker ground his teeth in a circle before replying. That shoe would link the Saints to this Annie Odell and her to the crime scene of the previous day. She was a simple writer for a newspaper, not the type of person, it seemed, to be involved in this mess. The MacManuses had better get some explaining done soon or things would get beyond his control.  
  
"So they're testing the blood with that from the midget footprint," Smecker stated. The three detectives exchanged a look that made him suspicious. He didn't like it.  
  
"Actually, no one knows it's there yet," Duffy informed him, nervously flipping back his coat and tucking his thumbs in his belt.  
  
"You're talking about evidence tampering, boys," Smecker said gravely. "We're not sure what this woman's involvement is yet." His eyes scanned the room. He took in the scene again with the broken window, the bodies, no pennies, and the blood splatter on the wall. It couldn't have belonged to any of the dead guys. Someone else had gotten hit and that someone was no longer in the room. He looked over at the trashcan. Evidence tampering could really get them in trouble.  
  
"Agent Smecker?" Dolly questioned. He blinked.  
  
"What's that little—thing—on the floor?" Smecker asked, pointing.  
  
"Oh, someone stepped on the fucking fish," Greenly replied casually. Agent Smecker rolled his eyes.  
  
"All right, here's what happened here…"

  
  
"Details tonight are still sketchy but police have confirmed that a young woman by the name of Annie Odell has gone missing. It is unconfirmed whether or not the Saints are involved this time. We'll keep you posted and in the meantime, if anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Annie Odell, the Boston police are requesting that you please contact them."

Connor slammed his hand into the vending machine. The bag of chips came loose and clattered down so he could claim them, which he did with only a certain amount of frustration. He took them back to the small motel room. The lights were turned out and he felt for the switch. Illumination. Annie blinked, curled in a chair next to Murphy, who still slept on the bed. She wore his shirt. Their father had probably burned her blood stained outfit already.

"Where's the boy?" Connor asked quietly. Annie looked over at the table. He could make out the kid under the table just barely. "I got him some food."

"That's hardly food," Annie replied. 

Connor chuckled in good humor and put the junk food on the table. He pulled out a chair and fell into it. Declan scooted away. It was a little stinging to Connor, he didn't mean the boy any harm. He opened the bag of chips and made sure to do so noisily. If Annie had a comment about it, she didn't share. Connor was glad it didn't wake Murphy, so he crunched away, loudly. After a moment, he stuck them under the table. Declan raised his head but didn't fall for it. Connor sighed and left the bag on the floor, just in case he changed his mind.

"I told you it wasn't food," Annie said. Her voice trembled.

"Too smart for me," Connor agreed. "Murphy needs to join the living again soon." He took out a cigarette and lit it up before continuing. The nicotine gave him some comfort. "Da's plan is to turn you and the boy over to Smecker. They'll probably put you in witness protection."

"And then we'll never you see you again," Annie stated what he had implied. "Or Murphy."

"Aye."

"I'm a realist, Connor, I know there's not much of a choice," Annie told him. She stood up and gestured that the chair was all his. Declan became her focus. She knelt by the table and tried to coax him out. Connor sighed. He crossed the room and laid a hand on Murphy's shoulder. When his twin didn't wake, he shook him. 

"Hey, lemme sleep," Murphy slurred.

"In a minute, Murph," Connor told him. "Just wake up." 

"Fuck," Murphy replied. 

"Language around a lady, and a kid," Connor reprimanded. Murphy snickered. He tried to sit up and Connor gave him a hand. Still, Murphy jarred his leg and hissed. "Sorry." 

Murphy tried to shrug it off, pointing at the ice on the nightstand. Connor handed it to him and waited a moment, picking his words carefully. 

"You awake yet?" Connor asked. Murphy nodded, refraining from making a sarcastic remark. He could tell Connor wanted to be serious, but he was afraid to do so. "Da's got a plan..." He trailed off and shook his head, avoiding Murphy's eyes.

"Well?"

"We'll hand them over to Smecker and get out of the country like we planned," Connor said finally. "It's too hot here, right after that court room scene--"

"Hell no!" Murphy protested.. "We can't just leave like that!" Annie jumped at his outburst and looked over her shoulder. Neither of them noticed.

"It's better for us to listen to Da," Connor said. "Look at yourself, you've got a fucking hole in your fucking leg."

"What about the indifference of good men, Connor, what about that?" Murphy asked fiercely. There was silence for a moment, but it was tense. Connor couldn't look his brother in the eye, not while Murphy glared at him with such conviction. Murphy swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"What about we're not always doing business?" Connor asked quietly. "We gotta stop somewhere."

"But we can't stop here, what about this kid's sister? You have to be fucking insane to think I'm going anywhere," Murphy spat. 

"What about all this?" Connor spat right back. "That doesn't change it. What about Da, he knows more about this shit than we do. He's been in all this trouble before."

"Ah, what the fuck, why the hell do you follow Da so blindly?" Murphy said. "He left us!" Connor grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him to his feet. Annie gasped and rushed over, putting a hand on Connor's arm. They still ignored her.

"Don't you talk about your father like that, ever!" Connor growled. "What about Rocco, Murph? They killed him! He's _dead! _ What if that had been you?" Murphy's hands flew to the front of Connor's shirt, locking them in an identical hold.

"It wasn't!" Murphy retorted. "I'm still here. You're holding onto me right now yourself!" 

"Let go!" Annie interjected loudly. "Both of you!" Murphy looked at her instead of his brother. 

"What about God?" Murphy whispered. He shoved Connor away and fell back onto the bed, gripping his leg and breathing heavily. Connor stumbled back and found his footing. He blinked. He hadn't noticed he'd been hurting Murphy, how could that have happened? Annie looked between them, scared. Murphy took his hand away and stared at the blood. The wound was torn open again. Connor knelt and put his hand over it. The reporter went to the bathroom for some towels.

"I'm sorry," Connor breathed. "I didn't mean it."

"Yeah, well I did," Murphy said through gritted teeth. "I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
